Saturday, April 30, 2011

Are Most Americans Idiots?

If you listen toIDIOT AMERICA by Charles Pierce, as narrated by actor Bronson Pinchot, you have to realize Americans have been watching way, way too much television (also known as the "boob tube.") We have a tendency to believe whatever the most people believe, regardless of the facts, says Pierce. And the more fervently we believe something, the more likely our peers also come to view it as "truth." This includes, not just the belief that dinosaurs once romped with men, but also the belief that lawyer/politicians who promise change and economic recovery are truthful, even as they pocket kickbacks from big banks looking to be bailed out at taxpayer expense. The devil lurking in the details is always passed over in our rush for soundbite wrap-ups (between commercials for junk food by Machiavellian corporations solely concerned with quarterly profit.) With little tolerance for critical thought, and little respect for actual science, we have become so inundated by fringe theories and pop culture that our lowered attention spans assumes that all science is on an equal footing, and that religion is the only basis for believing anything (ie. whatever you want to believe is as good as anything else.) Defiant of facts, we rely on emotions. And so we believed Greenspan and Bush, and then Obama. "You deserve a break today," was McDonalds' slogan, and "have a Coke and a smile" Coke's slogan, even as they deceived the public, and added to the health care crisis. Now that we face a staggering debt which may bust the dollar in hyperinflation (as the Fed prints money to pay that debt), Pierce has a point. Americans are idiots to allow a boob tube mentality to control their lives, and it's past time to wake up and smell the dark roast. As Pierce puts it: "It doesn't matter how many votes your politician gets, he's not going to be able to turn lead into gold.